Need help with pre-interview questions

[nrq9897]

I am applying a nursing job and there are some questions that im not sure how to answer. Can anyone help plz?

1. describe the transition you expect to undertake when moving from the student role to the registered nurse role.

2. what are the qualities or skills you have which you would bring to an employing organisation?

My answer:

- Effectively assess, plan and manage client care

- Work with clients and their family in a culturally safe and appropriate manner to deliver effective care;

- Act professionally in a team, collaborating with team members to deliver best possible care and outcome

and I am a proactive person and im always willing to learn>

Dose this answer sounds OK?

3. during your shift one of your patients becomes unwell, requiring a lot of your timr, describe your actions, including how you would re-prioritise your workload to best manage the situation?

This one is hard..coz i have never been in situation like this before...

[jlynn2303]

I'm getting ready to graduate - and would LOVE to see the answers given to your questions! :-) Good luck!

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

The transition will include being solely responsible for the care you give and being accountable for every action you take. You'll have responsibility for more patients than you've ever had before and you'll be delegating some of the care to other team members. Delegation isn't usually simple or straightforward, and many people are very uncomfortable with it. Figure out early on who you delegate to and what you can and can't delegate to them. After your orientation period is over, no one will be looking over your shoulder and keeping you on track. You'll need to develop time management and organizational skills quickly and identify your resources early.

Your responses to #2 are basic expectations of the job. What makes YOU special? Are you really good at explaining complex concepts in simple terms? Are you a creative thinker, like McGyver? Are you adaptable and able to multitask well? Are you able to think clearly and act decisively in emergency situations? Do you have a strong work ethic that drives you to seek out oppostunities to help others when they're swamped? Those are the kinds of things they want to hear in response to that type of question.

For the third one, you can make up a scenario in your head, such as your patient has developed severe respiratory distress that is compromising his cardiac output. You're going to be really busy with this patient and will probably be transferring him to the ICU. What do you personally have to do, what can others help you with, and who would you seek that help from? What happens to your other patients while all this is going on? You'd want to ensure your patient's ABCs are managed appropriately and your documentation is up to date. Enlist the assistance of your charge nurse, a respiratory therapist if available, a physician, a nursing assistant. Your other patients will need their blood sugars done and their insulins given, their important scheduled meds (BP meds, transplant meds, cardiac meds, hormones and so on) must be given but things like vitamins and stool softeners can wait. This is how you need to think to come up with a good response for this question.

Hope this helps.

[nrq9897]

Thanks a lot. This really helps. I just graduated and registered. But when I am asked about scenario based questions, I just dont know how to answer. When look back my practise as a student nurse. I feel there are no significant events happened that I can use during my interview...I just feel so stuck. Why is this? I dont know...but i know this is a really bad sign.... why I cant recall any difficult patient/situation I manged before?

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

That would be because as a student, there really weren't any such situations for you to handle. It's not typical to assign students to unstable patients, for the simple reason that without experience a student could (will) miss a lot of subtle changes that herald disaster... and not know enough to tell somebody. Some students are "fortunate" to have been around when a crisis arose and could observe what happened, what was done, who did it and how. But it's really a small number. You know what might help you? Reading through some case studies on Medscape and seeing if you can predict what would be done for the patients as the scenarios progress. The other thing is to be honest with the interviewer and say that you've never actually been involved in any truly difficult situation, but you've role-played some so that you could work on critical thinking.

[nrq9897]

Thank you. I would do that.

Its hard to get a job now as a new grad. Im just trying to apply as many postion as I get and hope I can get a job soon.

As a new grad, I want to join the new grad programme in hospital. If I still cant get a job this time. I will apply rest home or GP.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

I think your answers sound too much like they are from a textbook. It doesn't answer what the interviewer wants to know about YOU personally as a nurse.

Do some research. If you haven't been in any situations during clinicals, ask people about theirs. Learn about hospital protocols. How do nurses manage their time, juggle 6-7 patients or more (depending on where they work). What qualities do YOU have personally that would help you care for these patients, ie: are you good at time management, do you interact with people well? Think about and write down your strengths and weaknesses. If you have the latter, what steps did you take to improve these weaknesses?

The interviewers will also ask you re nursing laws and protocols for your country. Look up your local BON website and learn these as much as you can (you won't be expected to know all of them, just in general). Think of a question about the law they may answer you, ie: you have seen a nurse take a medication from the pharmacy cupboard and put it in her pocket. What actions would you take re this situation? (a question I was asked not long ago).

You will be asked re patient advocacy - what do you know about that? How would you stand up to a Dr for instance, if you thought your patient was being bullied or put at risk for example?

Learn about hospital protocols and how you would report any incidents - who would you see re an incident, what paperwork would you complete?

Also think about how you would manage a 6 patient load on a medical/surgical ward for example. How would you start planning your day after handover? Would you sit down and write a quick plan, or go and do meds first, make beds, do showers, etc? Which meds would you start first? (IVs can take a while to check and prepare sometimes). All your patients may be diabetics - do you have to do blood sugars first b4 breakfast and after? They will ask you this question so write down a plan and stick to it.

They will ask you re occupational health and safety and may give you a scenario to answer as well, like I had ie: you see a patient fall heavily on the floor, what would you do? You see a hazardous liquid leaking onto the floor, what would you do?

Lastly, they will give you an emergency scenario. For example the one I had involved walking into a room, all other nurses happened to be away from the ward or on a tea break, and a patient is choking and turning blue. What would you do? Run through all your cardiac resuscitation protocols, and emergency scenario protocols - like fire safety, explosions, managing aggressive clients and/or patients families that threaten you.

I have been asked all the above questions in some interviews. They want to know how you would react in all these situations, but always remember to state things calmly and clearly. Think about what they ask you b4 you answer and if you 4get an answer, ask to come back to it.

Also ask them some intelligent questions at the end. I know it seems daunting but just walk in with confidence, smile, make a little joke, then stay calm and level headed and you will be OK I reckon. Good luck!

[nrq9897]

Thanks for your reply. It really helps.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Thanks for your reply. It really helps.

No worries, glad to help.

[nrq9897]

for question 3. can i seek help from other nurses by delegating my other pts to them, as for patient safety, this patient may require close monitor in the ward and one-to-one care? and I will also inform physician and charge nurse.